Grass requires plenty of water to keep it green and growing. Long periods without rain can mean that you end up with a dry brown yard. Here are ten ways to save your yard during drought conditions.

  1. Water deeply – When you do water your lawn (drought or no drought), give it plenty of water at once. This allows the water to seep further down into the soil and encourages the grass to grow deeper roots.
  2. Space out your watering – Since you are applying lots of water, space out your waterings. This will also encourage those grass roots to  reach down for the water instead of just accessing what is available near the surface.
  3. Apply wetting agents – Golf courses and other commercial greens apply wetting agents to help keep their grass green and healthy. This should be done by a professional and can be costly, however.
  4. Pre-condition the lawn – If a time of drought is expected, begin preparing your lawn by spreading out your waterings further ahead of time, rather than suddenly ending the watering.
  5. Avoid fertilizers – Don’t apply fertilizers to your lawn during a season of drought. This could actually be harmful to your lawn.
  6. Raise the mower height – By raising the cutting height on your mower, you will be encouraging root growth in your grasses. This will help the grass stay greener longer during a drought season.
  7. Increase potassium – Prior to a drought season, change your fertilizer to one that contains a higher level of potassium. Potassium may encourage root growth in your grasses.
  8. Decrease nitrogen – In your fertilizer used prior to drought, use one with less nitrogen. Nitrogen encourages the blade growth of the grass. The focus should be on the roots prior to a dry season.
  9. Change grass types – Fescue type turf grasses will maintain their green qualities longer during a drought than Kentucky or rye grasses. If drought is a frequent problem, you may want to consider increasing these types of grasses in your lawn mixture.
  10. Natural dormancy – Grasses that turn brown and dry during a drought have actually gone dormant and will revive again quickly when water levels return to the soil. Your lawn is not actually being damaged by the drought season, it simply doesn’t look as nice.

As you can see there are things you can do to help keep your lawn greener, longer, during a drought period. Just remember, that if you can water, watering longer and less often will be better for your grass that small amounts every day.

Filed under: utilities

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